Think of these seasonal (quarterly) blog posts as kind of like a “blog within a blog.” An easy-breezy way of adding new content (on a variety of topics). These are subject to editing, right up to the point where the next quarterly one begins.
(1) (Tuesday, April 22, 2025) A few days ago, I thought, let me go over to earthday.org, click on “Earth Day 2025,” and see if there are any events I can travel to, to pass out my cards, meet people, and help spread word about my website. But after taking a quick look at the local offerings and all of the Manhattan events listed on the map, I took a Tylenol. I was literally starting to get a headache. I saw absolutely nothing that looked even remotely fitting. Almost everything I saw had nothing to do with saving the planet. All I saw was a breathtaking level of shallowness that’s reflective of just why the situation is as bad as it is.
And this is exactly why it’s so important that I get funding!
Perhaps, a good event for Earth Day — this might work better for small gatherings, as opposed to large crowds — would be to initiate a lively discussion, centered around that very fact. Pull up the map of Earth Day events, and ask, with concerned critical thinking, “Does this rise to the level of saving the planet?” “Does this?” “What about this?” Go down the list. Ask what people think. Brainstorm together. And while doing that, also describe how bad the situation is, and give plenty of examples of that. List the problems we’re up against. Ask for feedback on ideas for more constructive ways of spending time on Earth Day.
I thought maybe it’s just the U.S., surely Europe is better. Right? Nope. In fact, interestingly, I believe I saw more Earth Day events showing for Manhattan — just one borough of New York City — than for all the nations on the entire continent of Africa, combined. And China? Please. I think there were about a half dozen events listed in that entire nation of 1.4 billion people. (I’m glad I took that Tylenol.)
(2) (Tuesday, April 22, 2025) Here’s a quotation I came across recently that’s worth sharing this Earth Day:
“The nature of consumption is the consumption of nature, — Jordan Percy
Some food for thought, for your mind to nibble on.
(3) (Tuesday, April 22, 2025) Here’s something I saw the other day, while checking that day’s news stories. It’s from an article published online in TheGuardian.com/us (” ‘All of his guns will do nothing for him’: lefty preppers are taking a different approach to doomsday”). I didn’t read the article, I did what I term “sampling” (reading just parts of it). That’s all I had time for. I had to get ready for work soon. Down towards the final paragraph, Aaron Gell (who wrote the article) quotes this brief passage from Jem Bendell’s 2023 book Breaking Together: “Humanity is really screwed, so let’s slow down, help each other, be nicer to animals and nature, defend freedom, grow food, play more, be open-minded about what might help, and forgive ourselves.” It’s a nice sentiment. And one worth sharing.
(4) (Thursday, May 1, 2025) Coming soon! My new ad wording in The New York Review of Books will be making its debut in the May 29th issue (I missed the deadline for the May 15th issue). I like the new wording. I’m always trying to find that magical wording that works. Hopefully, this new wording will work in helping get my message out that if you want to save the planet, if that’s something you really care about, I’ve got the very best ideas, strategies and thinking for accomplishing that; but to move forward, I need funding. All it takes is for just one individual to step forward with a desire to start seeing real progress in the battle to save the planet. Might you be that one? Let’s do it!
(5) (Wednesday, May 7, 2025) Good thing I’m not running for president. I won’t be able to shake hands for about a month. Yesterday, while preparing a meal, I cut one of my fingers, rather deeply. I was able to stop the bleeding (rather than run out and get stitches) by applying a waterproof bandage, (If it keeps water out, it should keep blood in.)
I felt tempted to reach for ground black pepper instead. I once read somewhere that’s a quick fix way to stop bleeding. But a doctor told me ground pepper could potentially cause an infection if it’s not all rinsed out. Anyhow, the waterproof band-aid did the trick.
I was using an extra sharp, extra long, serrated knife. I thought as long as I could see my fingers and see the knife, and they appeared to be sufficiently spaced far enough apart, it should be safe. But what I hadn’t counted on is while I was cutting the turnip the knife decided to kangaroo over to where my fingers were.
So let that be a lesson. Knives have a mind of their own. What I should have done is used the smaller, less sharp (but still very sharp) knife. Then after making a few cuts I could’ve switched over to one of my dull knives to do the rest of the cutting.
I added about 20 drops of oil of oregano to my food — yesterday and again today — since I didn’t take time to rinse the cut. Carvacrol (a phytochemical in oil of oregano) will help prevent infection. My hands, food and knife were clean — washed beforehand — the oil of oregano was just an extra precaution.
However, if that finger swells up to the size of a grapefruit, then Houston, we definitely have a problem.
(6) (Friday, May 16, 2025) I’m always jotting down thoughts, ideas, things to do. Here’s something I jotted down the other day:
Question
If the totality
Of human existence
Could be summed up
In a sentence
What
Would that sentence
Be
(7) (Wednesday, May 28, 2025) I made some changes to my Contact page. I added two more things. One having to do with crowdfunding. The other has to do with the need for a filmmaker or film director. Anyhow, while doing that, I needed to look something up on my Read This First! page. I was having trouble finding what I was looking for. Eventually, I discovered that one of the subheadings was changed, in color and size — probably in an effort to make it more smartphone-friendly in appearance — but the end result is I found it looked confusing and made the page itself look too long. It didn’t even look at all like a subheading, it looked like regular text. So I re-established what I think was the previous look (or close enough). I don’t know how long it’s been like that. So I apologize to anyone who was as confused by that as I was. If I get the chance, I’ll have to check to see if there are other things in need of correction as well on that page.
(8) (Monday, June 2, 2025) Here we go again. I was looking for a specific thing I wrote years ago. I found it right away, using Google. But, ugh, the transition between paragraphs there was abysmal. I knew I had to switch into editing mode and rectify that pronto. That’s done. But it’s a good example of why I can use an assistant. To proofread everything! And illustrates, too, why funding is so crucial. If I don’t have time for proofreading, I certainly don’t have time for writing about my “52p52” ideas. One day a week is all there is, where I’m not either coming from work, or going to work — and that day vanishes like a coin in a magician’s hand!
Separately, while brushing my teeth, I had an intriguing thought. One of the things I’d most like to find at my storage unit, might provide a workable solution for a serious issue that gets such little attention that I suspect most people aren’t even aware it is a problem. That’s not the reason why I’d like to find that particular article, by the way. I’d like to discuss it for a different reason. But this other possible application would be “icing on the cake.” So to speak.
I seem to get lots of great ideas while brushing my teeth. I’m not sure why. But I have some theories.
Anyhow, I’m not much concerned about finding that article. I tried years ago and gave up. I just don’t have the time. Tossing stuff — throwing stuff out — is so much more of a necessity. Storage units start out cheap, but over time become costly. Nonetheless, this illustrates another example of how receiving funding could prove beneficial in a multitude of ways. There are so many things I could be doing, related to saving the planet, if I only had the ability to make that my primary focus.
(9) (Wednesday, June 4, 2025) To what I most recently wrote above, let me add this: Just as someone can be a top-flight athlete, but unable to hold a note as a singer; or be a brilliant architect, but a lousy dancer; so too, someone can have a brilliantly sharp mind ideas-wise concerning how to save the planet, but be terrible at designing a website for getting funding to focus on that. They are two different things. The one being something I couldn’t be more eager to focus on. The other being something more fittingly described as a means to an end, something I wish I didn’t have to spend time on.
(10) (Wednesday, June 4, 2025) While driving today, I happened to notice a woman walking down the street holding an open umbrella over her head. Sunny, over 80 degrees Fahrenheit, so not terribly surprising. And yet, so few people seem to do that.
Anyhow, it was a nice sight to see. Rather than applying a concoction of ecologically obnoxious chemicals to protect your skin — a recommendation you hear often — simply use an umbrella. Besides protecting her skin, it also kept her cooler, and shielded her eyes from the sun.
Oh, and coincidentally, I just happened to listen to this “song” (don’t look at me, it’s described as a “song”) the other day:
Everybody’s Free to Wear Sunscreen / Baz Luhrmann
I can’t recall how I found it. Maybe it found me? It might’ve been one of those Up Next videos that appear while listening to a song on YouTube.
(11) (Thursday, June 12, 2025) At least two or three times a week there’s something I’m itching to add here to this Seasonal blog post space. But I’m realizing more and more I have to stop doing that. It inevitably gets in the way of my being able to knock things off my to-do lists. Still, I’ve had a great idea for a way of finishing off each of these Seasonal blog posts (the last, before the next one begins) — if I don’t forget, or get too bogged down with my to-do lists. I plan to make this another regular quarterly feature. Can you guess what it is? Just giving you a heads up. And something to look forward to, before my “Summer, 2025” blog post makes its debut (in about a week).